THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, JULY 28, 1907,
M FIGHT1MG ESMILIES W THE . .
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FT ALBERT J. CA.PROI.
YOUR Jolly old Uncle Sam, while
strongly In favor of peace, does not
loe Btjht of the main chance to
kp his guns bright and his fighting men
well disciplined ready for any emer
genpy which might arise.
Our country does not recognise the old
country's "hereditary preferment," yet It
is a principle which, despite our demo
eratlo Institutions, finds lodgment In the
body pontic.
have examples of It with the offi
cers of the Army and Navy eons of offi
cers frequently fallowing in the footsteps
of their fathers, and there are a number
of instances where several succeeding
generations have worn an officer's In
signia' and Upheld the glory of the flag,
to their credit and honor of our country.
It Is usually the policy of he President
to make all appointment to "West Point
and Annapolis "at large", from the fami
, lies of officers of those branches of the
service. There Is Justice in this, aside
from tradition, for an . officer - has no
legal residence, hence could not perforce,
be subject to the nomination of any of
the delegates In Congress; moreover,
"blood will tell." If It is in the blood if
there is anything in hereditary and en
vironment, then it follows that a boy
brought up under the Influence of Army
life will, all things being equal, make a
better soldier than one mustered In from
oivil life.
It is a sort of tradition in the Army
and Navy that the eldest son shall enter
the service, following In his father's foot
steps; it has become engrafted, as It Were,
In the regulations until now a large per
centage .of officers are 'Sons of officers.
To be sure, the late war brought in
quite a number of young men from civil
life who have not inherited military blood
or training, but It only serves to empha
size the above fact. Again, it is a notable
instance that officers most frequently
marry among the daughters of officers of
the post.
Tt is an established fart, capable of
abundant proof, that a large percentage
of the officers of the Army and Navy
began with the family name, male or
female. In the war of the Revolution of
1812. Moreover, there are a large number
of instances where the name has been
on the roster ever since those days.
Of course, quite a number of names
which have become prominent in the
Army or Xavy were ' added during the
Civil War, yet even many of these had
ancestors in the Colonial times.
Onoe in a while we get a great shock
to our belief in' "hereditary right or pre
ferment," . with the dismissal or court
martial of some one of these old families.
but then there may be black sheep in any
flock, and these' must be weeded out for
the "good of the iservlce."
This leads us up to the main points of
this article, the names of some of the
fighting families which have lent glory
to our Army and Navy. Among the most
prominent of these may be 'found the
Lees. Barretts, Caprons (these latter two
closely related by family ties) Muhlen
berg, Porters, Cravins, Bainbridge and
many others.
The Lees, Caprons and Porters landed
on this soil along back In 1660. The old
homestead of the Lee family has been
In that name for many generations, while
the Capron farm. In Attleboro, Mass.,
has been In their possession lnce 1660;
the original log house, now built over,
la standing as an old landmark. Attle-'
boro is built on a portion of the original
land grant, by Cromwell, of 6000 acres.
The Barretts settled In Nassau, N. H..
during the seventeenth century. The
old stone mansion is still ' standing and
In the family possession.
The' Lee family love to look back to the
famous "Light Horse Harry," whose ad
venturous spirit often led him to the
point of breaking with his commanding
officer: not that treason could be laid
against him, for he was a very loyal
soldier, but his liking for adventure and
tight often took him beyond the line of
safety and contrary to the orders of his
superiors.
Lee's part in the New Jersey cam
paign came .near proving his undoing
and disastrous to all concerned, an'd only
prompt action saved them from serious
difficulty.
Some have likened his conduct as re
gards his relations with General "Wash
ington to that between Garfield and
Rosecrans during the Civil War.
Robert B. Lee, his son, was with the
South during the Civil War, although he
was educated by the Government at West
Point. It Is said that when he decided to
follow his state in this contest, he was
seized with uncontrollable grief, but nev
ertheless he obeyed the mandates of his
conscience and drew his sword against his
country. '
George Washington Curtis Lee. son of
Robert B. Lee. was an officer and with
his nephew. Fitzhugh Lee. entered the
Southern ranks. The latter re-entered
the United States Army in 1S98 and this
act, in a great measure, served to
ameliorate the old feeling caused by Civil
War acts.
General Fltrhugh Lee died recently, a
Major-General, and his son, Fitzhugh.
Jr., represents 'the fourth generation of
the Lee family In the regular establish
ment. Two of the most gallant officers in the
Army, whose lives were sacrificed in the
Cuban campaign, were Captains Allyn
and Allyn K. Capron, father and son.
They were of the fam5us fighting family
who have probably furnished more blood
to the United States Army than any
other: records show that first and last
over 100 of this family have given their
services and lives to their country, while
as for officers, there was not a time un
til the Spanish-American War when the
name has not been on the Army roster.
We might mention some of those whom
the records show as having been in
command, taken , part In the various
wars, from and Including the Revolu
tionary, 1812, Mexican. Civil and Spanish
American, not to mention the various
Indian wars which have been carried on
from pre-Revolutlonary days, the French
Indian, Seven Nations, Seminole, in the
broad western portion of our beloved
country as well as the central; for the
carving out of a Nation like ours is not
always a peaceful one. as history
teaches us.
Walter Capron was a patriot of the
Revolution and contributed a considera
ble portion of the sinews of war, while
Captain John Capron Brown, his son,
commanded a company of Rhode Island
militia, and another. Captain Samuel
Capron Tyler, of Attleboro militia. .Colo
nel Oliver Capron. who commenced his
service with the French War. served in
the defense of Boston "through to the
close of the War of the Revolution. Gov
ernor Joseph Jenks. Major Nathaniel
Jenks, Judges Arnold and Aldrlch, Philip
Capron, Joseph Capron, General Horace
Capron, Hon. Ell Capron Thayer. Hon.
Adin B. Capron, August Capron Holden.
Jonathan Capron, Alice Alden Capron
(granddaughter of Mayflower Alden),
Captain Albert Banfleld Capron. Colonel
Fred 8. Capron, Captain Tiffany C.
Capron, Captain James A. Capron Reed,
Hqn. Ellsha Smith Capron, Dr. Comfort
Capron, Captain John Capron Brown and
many others whose names may be found
n the records at W ashington, state ar
chives and so on, who gave unstinted
service In the defense and upbuilding of
this, the greatest Nation on earth.
Coming .down to recent events, the
Spanish-American War, we note Captain
Allyn Capron and Captain Allyn K.
Capron, father and son, both of whom
gave their lives In the same cause. These
ended the line of officers for the time
being, although a son has recently grad
uated from Annapolis and will continue
the name.
It was Captain Allyn K. Capron
whom the President, In one of his books
on the war, mentioned as his Ideal sol
dier. While leading his company at
Laa Guaslmas, he was laid low by the
enemy, and In his last breath cheered
ii men on to victory.
His Father, Captain Allyn Capron,
who commanded a battery In another
portion of the field of action, when
advised, a few minutes later, of his
son's death, remarked: "Well done,
Allyn!" and gave orders to continue
firing and ceased not until the destruc
tion and surrender of the enemy's de-
fences. The hardships of the campaign,
together with the loss of his son. result
ed in his death also, and they He side by
side in Arlington, there to remain until
the reveille of the final dawn shall
sound, then . wars will be no more.
The recent graduate at Annapolis will
take up the work and, presumbaly, will
honorably live up to the family tradi
tions. Of the Barretts, a collateral branch
of the Capron family. We have first
Colonel Charles Barrett. Captain
Charles Barrett. Clarence Tynan Bar
rett, Colonel Clinton S. Barrett, Cap
tain Edward H. Barrett. George, James,
George. Hubbel. Joseph. Fay. Israel,
Humphrey. Humphrey J.. Joseph (I),
Lieutenant Oliver. Colonel James Bar
rett, who commanded the first regi
ment to march against the enemy at
Concord, April 4. 1775. Captain Charles,
Captain Charles. Jr.. and a host of oth
ers, both in the early Colonial wars
Mexican, Civil and later engagement.
In all of which they gave good accounts
of themselves. John Barrett, of Port
land, comes of this branch, and It ac
counts for his successes not In war
where blood is shed, but in the vic
tories which are no less important
those of peaceful conquests.
Another prominent family name
one of which to be proud Is that of
old General Peter Muhlenburg, who
begat a family of good fighting stock
in the War of the Revolution, and aside
from one short period, the family has
been with the Army ever since.
The Rogers have long been Iden
tified both with the Army and Navy.
They have been good fighters, first and
last. Admiral Rogers, retired, would,
we think, be ready, should occasion
arise, to again take up the cause for
which they have fought, and give a
good account of himself. The name
ha won distinction In both civil and
military life.
We will. not forget the porters. For
good all around fighters on both land
and. sea, there have been none better.
(Concluded on Page 11.)
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